Holiday weekend brings temporary reprieve from orange barrels, lane closures

LANSING — Lane restrictions on more than half of state road and bridge projects statewide will be reduced or eliminated over the upcoming Memorial Day holiday weekend.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced on Wednesday the move to reduce lane restrictions on 55% of MDOT projects to ease traffic delays over the three-day weekend.

“This Memorial Day weekend, we’re temporarily removing orange barrels and lifting lane restrictions to make travel smoother and easier,” Whitmer said in a release. “But once Memorial Day is over, we'll get right back to work fixing the damn roads."

Beginning at 3 p.m. Friday and continuing until 6 a.m. Tuesday, 85 of 154 projects statewide will have lane restrictions removed, although some equipment will remain in place. Some major projects, including work on the Mackinac Bridge, will continue to impact traffic.

Here is list of work zones that will remain active or have lane restrictions during Memorial Day weekend. If necessary, detour routes will be posted at the project location.

"With the record amount of road and bridge work happening all across the state thanks to increased federal infrastructure investment from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, as well as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's Rebuilding Michigan program, it has never been more important for drivers to follow all posted signs and speed limits in work zones," said State Transportation Director Brad Wieferich.

About a dozen major projects are underway this year in Greater Lansing, including the ongoing rebuild of U.S. 127 between Interstates 96 and 496 and bridge work on I-96 in Eaton and Ingham counties.

Several ramps are closed along the U.S. 127 project area, including at Dunckel and Trowbridge roads. Drivers were being advised to follow posted detours or find alternate routes around that area.

The ramp from northbound Lansing Road to eastbound I-96 is closed, and South Washington Avenue and Billwood Highway are both closed at I-96. Also note that one lane of M-99 is closed in both directions at I-96.

In Clinton County, one lane of I-69 is closed in each direction between Old 27 and U.S. 127.

The American Automobile Association estimates more than 1.3 million Michigan residents will travel 50 miles or more from home during the weekend, a 4% increase from last year and the second-highest forecast since 2000, when AAA began tracking holiday traffic.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: MDOT orange barrels to roll back over holiday weekend